Floor panel and floor covering consisting of a plurality of such floor panels

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a floor panel, in particular a laminated floor panel. The invention also relates to a floor covering consisting of a plurality of mutually coupled floor panels according to the invention. The invention further relates to a method for mutually coupling two floor panels, in particular laminated floor panels, according to the invention.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/316,871, filed Dec. 12, 2011, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/NL2010/050365, filed Jun. 14, 2010,which claims benefit of priority of The Netherlands Patent ApplicationNo. 2003019, filed Jun. 12, 2009 and PCT/NL2009/050540, filed Sep. 9,2009, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a floor panel, in particular a laminated floorpanel. The invention also relates to a floor covering consisting of aplurality of mutually coupled floor panels according to the invention.The invention further relates to a method for mutually coupling twofloor panels, in particular laminated floor panels, according to theinvention.

2. Description of Related Art

The last ten years has seen enormous advance in the market for laminatefor hard floor covering. An important aspect during the productdevelopment of the laminate is the facility with which a laminated floorcan be laid. The American patent U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,836 describes alaminate consisting of floor panels which can be mutually coupled,wherein the coupling of two floor panels can be realized by having thefloor panels engage each other at an angle, followed by tilting thefloor panels relative to each other, whereby the floor panels can infact be hooked into each other. Although the known laminate can be laidrelatively easily by a user, the known floor covering also has a numberof drawbacks. A significant drawback of the known floor covering isthat, due to the tilting movement required to realize the coupling,relatively great forces are exerted on the floor parts, which can resultin permanent damage (breakage). Another drawback of the known laminateis that a relatively large amount of space is required to enable mutualcoupling of the floor panels, which makes coupling of a floor panel toan adjacent floor panel considerably more difficult, or even impossible,in a limited space, such as for instance close to a wall or under aradiator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention has for its object to provide an improved floor panelwhich can be coupled in improved manner to an adjacent floor panel.

The invention provides for this purpose a floor panel, comprising: acentrally located core provided with an upper side and a lower side, atleast one first resilient coupling part and second resilient couplingpart connected respectively to opposite edges of the core, which firstcoupling part comprises a single tongue, at least one upward flank lyingat a distance from the upward tongue and a single upward groove formedbetween the upward tongue and the upward flank, wherein: at least a partof a side of the upward tongue facing toward the upward flank extends inthe direction of the normal of the upper side of the core, at least apart of a side of the upward tongue facing toward the upward flank formsan aligning edge for the purpose of coupling the first coupling part toa second coupling part of an adjacent floor panel, at least a part of aside of the upward tongue facing away from the upward flank is providedwith a first locking element which is connected substantially rigidly tothe upward tongue and adapted for co-action with a second lockingelement of a second coupling part of an adjacent floor panel, whichsecond coupling part comprises a single downward tongue, at least onedownward flank lying at a distance from the downward tongue, and asingle downward groove formed between the downward tongue and thedownward flank, wherein: at least a part of a side of the downwardtongue facing toward the downward flank extends in the direction of thenormal of the lower side of the core, at least a part of a side of thedownward tongue facing away from the downward flank forms an aligningedge for the purpose of coupling the second coupling part to a firstcoupling part of an adjacent floor panel, the downward flank is providedwith a second locking element which is connected substantially rigidlyto the downward flank and adapted for co-action with a first lockingelement of a first coupling part of an adjacent floor panel, wherein theupward groove is adapted to receive at least apart of a downward tongueof an adjacent panel, and wherein the downward groove is adapted toreceive at least a part of an upward tongue of an adjacent panel.Because the coupling parts are given a specific form and moreover take a(somewhat) resilient form, the substantially complementarily formedcoupling parts of adjacent floor panels can be coupled to each otherrelatively simply, but durably and efficiently. During coupling ofadjacent floor panels a force will here be exerted on one or bothcoupling parts, whereby the one or both coupling parts will deformelastically (move resiliently), as a consequence of which the volumetaken up by the downward groove and/or upward groove will be increasedsuch that the upward tongue and the downward tongue can be arrangedrelatively simply in respectively the downward groove and the upwardgroove. By subsequently allowing the forced coupling parts to move backresiliently to the original position a reliable, locked coupling will berealized between the two coupling parts, and thereby between the twofloor panels. This locked coupling, wherein both coupling parts mutuallyengage in relatively reliable manner, will counter friction of parts ofthe coupling against each other, whereby the coupling as such willgenerally generate relatively little noise. The applied aligning edges,generally also referred to as chamferings or guide surfaces, hereinfacilitate hooking together of the two coupling parts by thesubstantially linear displacement of the coupling parts relative to eachother. Applying the mutually co-acting locking elements prevents asubstantially vertical displacement of the two floor panels relative toeach other. Because both the first locking element and the secondlocking element are connected substantially rigidly to respectively theupward tongue and the downward flank, a relatively durable and stronglocking can be realized, since no use is made of relatively weakresilient locking parts in which material fatigue could moreover occurrelatively quickly. The locking in the floor panel according to theinvention is realized by deforming the first coupling part and/or thesecond coupling part relative to the core, whereby the locking elementscan engage round each other or into each other. As a result of the rigidconnection to the upward tongue and the downward flank, deformation ofthe locking elements themselves does not occur, or hardly so. The firstlocking element can otherwise form an integral part of the upwardtongue, wherein the first locking element can for instance be formed bya protruding (outward bulging) or recessed (inward bulging) edgedeformation of the upward tongue. The second locking element can alsoform an integral part of the downward tongue, wherein the second lockingelement can for instance be formed by a recessed or protruding edgedeformation of the downward flank. The upward groove of the firstcoupling part will generally be given a form such that it is adapted forreceiving in locked manner at least a part of a downward tongue of asecond coupling part of an adjacent floor panel. A first locking willthus be formed by confining the downward tongue of a floor panel in theupward groove of an adjacent floor panel and by confining the upwardtongue of the adjacent floor panel in the upward groove of the floorpanel, and a second locking will be formed by applying the lockingelements. The normal is understood to mean a normal vector of a plane,i.e. a vector perpendicular to this plane and thus originating from saidplane. If the upper side or the lower side of the core were to be notcompletely flat, for instance because the upper side or the lower sideof the core takes a form which is (to some extent) profiled, a planeformed by the upper side or lower side of the core can then be taken asbasis to enable definition of an unambiguous direction of the normal ofthe upper side or the lower side of the core. Since the floor panel willgenerally support on a flat, horizontal surface, the direction of thenormal of both the upper side of the core and the lower side of the corewill then be oriented substantially vertically. The characteristicorientation of the side of the upward tongue facing toward the upwardflank, the side of the downward tongue facing toward the downward flank,provides for a first locking mechanism (inner lock) during coupling ofthe floor panel to an adjacent floor panel. This is because, owing tothe characteristic inclining orientation of the tongue walls facingtoward the respective flanks, the exerting of (for instance) a verticalforce on the coupling is not likely to result in an uncoupling of theco-acting coupling parts, since the relevant tongue walls are pressedagainst each other, which is a considerable constraint to the tonguewalls sliding off each other and subsequent uncoupling of the couplingparts. In addition, at a distance from the first locking mechanism asecond locking mechanism (outer lock) is formed by the locking elementswhich co-act mutually, and furthermore at a distance from the abovementioned (inner) tongue walls, in a coupled position of two floorpanels. In the case of possible failure of one of the lockingmechanisms, securing of the coupling between the two floor panels willbe maintained as far as possible, this resulting in a relativelyreliable coupling between the two floor panels, whereby undesirablemutual displacement or uncoupling of the floor panels can be preventedas far as possible. Because the floor panel according to the inventionwill realize a multiple locking when the floor panel is coupled to anadjacent floor panel, a relatively firm, reliable and durable connectioncan be realized between the floor panels.

In a preferred embodiment at least one coupling part comprises a bridgepart connected to the core and an end part connected resiliently to thebridge part, wherein the end part is adapted to move resiliently(elastically) in a direction enclosing an angle, in particular asubstantially perpendicular angle, with a plane formed by the core. Theend parts of the coupling parts thus generally move resiliently inupward and/or downward direction here. The upward flank of the firstcoupling part herein forms part of the bridge part of the first couplingpart, wherein the upward tongue of the first coupling part forms part ofthe end part of the first coupling part. The downward flank of thesecond coupling part herein also forms part of the bridge part of thesecond coupling part, wherein the downward tongue of the second couplingpart forms part of the end part of the second coupling part. As alreadyindicated, the grooves of the coupling parts can be temporarily widenedby means of resilient movement, whereby realizing a coupling between thetwo coupling parts can be facilitated.

In order to particularly increase the tensile strength of an assembly ofcoupled floor panels, the coupling parts are designed such that at leasta part of a side of the upward tongue facing toward the upward flankextends in the direction of the normal of the upper side of the core,and that at least a part of a side of the downward tongue facing towardthe downward flank extends in the direction of the normal of the lowerside of the core.

Each of the upward tongue and the downward tongue is preferablysubstantially rigid, which means that the tongues are not configured tobe subjected to deformation. The tongues as such are relatively stiffand hence non-flexible. Moreover, the tongues are preferablysubstantially solid, which means that the tongues are substantiallymassive and thus completely filled with material and are therefore notprovided with grooves at an upper surface which would weaken theconstruction of the tongue and hence of the floor panel connection to berealised. By applying a rigid, solid tongue a relatively firm anddurable tongue is obtained by means of which a reliable and the durablefloor panel connection can be realised without using separate,additional components to realise a durable connection.

In an embodiment of the floor panel, at least a part of the upward flankadjoining the upper side of the floor panel is adapted to make contactwith at least a part of the downward tongue adjoining the upper side ofanother floor panel in a coupled state of these floor panels. Engagementof these surfaces will lead to an increase of the effective contactsurface between the coupling elements and hence to an increase ofstability and sturdiness of the connection between two floor panels. Ina favourable embodiment the upper side of the floor panel is adapted toengage substantially seamless to the upper side of another floor panel,as a result of which a seamless connection between two floor panels, andin particular the upper surfaces thereof, can be realised.

In another embodiment the first locking element is positioned at adistance from an upper side of the upward tongue. This is favourable,since this will commonly result in the situation that the first lockingelement is positioned at a lower level than the upward aligning edge ofthe floor panel, which has the advantage that the maximum deformation ofthe second coupling part can be reduced, whereas the connection processand deformation process can be executed in successive steps. Lessdeformation leads to less material stress which is in favour of the lifespan of the coupling part(s) and hence of the floor panel(s). In thisembodiment the second locking element is complementary positioned at adistance from an upper side of the downward groove.

In yet another embodiment the effective height of the downward alignededge is larger than the effective height of the upward tongue. Thiscommonly results in the situation that the downward aligning edge of afloor panel does not engage another floor panel in case of a pre-alignedstate (intermediate state), as shown e.g. in FIG. 18. Theposition-selective contactless pre-alignment does prevent or counteractforcing the downward aligning edge of a floor panel along the uppersurface of another floor panel, which could damage the floor panels.

In an embodiment the mutual angle enclosed by at least a part of a sideof the upward tongue facing toward the upward flank and the normal ofthe upper side of the core is substantially equal to the mutual angleenclosed by at least a part of a side of the downward tongue facingtoward the downward flank and the normal of the lower side of the core.A close-fitting connection of the two tongue parts to each other canhereby be realized, this generally enhancing the firmness of thecoupling between the two floor panels. In an embodiment variant theangle enclosed by on the one hand the direction in which at least a partof a side of the upward tongue facing toward the upward flank extendsand on the other the normal of the upper side of the core lies between 0and 60 degrees, in particular between 0 and 45 degrees, moreparticularly between 0 and 10 degrees. In another embodiment variant theangle enclosed by on the one hand the direction in which at least a partof a side of the downward tongue facing toward the downward flankextends and on the other the normal of the lower side of the core liesbetween 0 and 60 degrees, in particular between 0 and 45 degrees, moreparticularly between 0 and 10 degrees. The eventual inclination of thetongue side facing toward the flank usually also depends on theproduction means applied to manufacture the floor panel. In anembodiment inclination of the downward aligned edge is less than theinclination of at least an upper part of the upward flank, as result ofwhich an expansion chamber will be formed between both surface whichwill be favourable to allow play and to compensate expansion, e.g. dueto moist absorption by the floor panels.

In a variant at least a part of an upper side of the upward tongueextends in a direction toward the normal of the upper side of the core.This has the result that the thickness of the upward tongue decreases inthe direction of the side of the tongue facing away from the upwardflank. By having the downward groove substantially connect to the upperside of the upward tongue, in a coupled position of two floor panelsaccording to the invention wherein an upper side of the downward grooveextends in the direction of the normal of the lower side of the core, asecond coupling part can be provided which is on the one hand relativelystrong and solid and can on the other guarantee sufficient resilience toenable a coupling to be realized to a first coupling part of an adjacentfloor panel.

The aligning edges are preferably formed by a flat surface so as toallow guiding of another coupling part during the process of couplingtwo floor panels to proceed be generally in as controlled a manner aspossible. In another embodiment variant at least a part of the aligningedge of the second coupling part has a substantially flatter orientationthan at least a part of the upward flank of the first coupling part. Byapplying this measure there is generally created in a coupled positionan air gap between the aligning edge of the second coupling part and aflank of the first coupling part. This clearance intentionally createdbetween the two coupling parts is usually advantageous during couplingof adjacent floor panels, since this clearance does not prevent atemporary deformation of the coupling parts, this facilitating couplingof the coupling parts. Furthermore, the created clearance isadvantageous for the purpose of absorbing expansion of the floor panel,for instance resulting from moisture absorption, this not beinginconceivable when the floor panel is at least partially manufacturedfrom wood.

In an embodiment variant a part of the upward flank of the firstcoupling part connecting to the core forms a stop surface for at least apart of the side of the downward tongue facing away from the downwardflank. In this way a close fitting of at least the upper side of thefloor panels can be realized, this usually being advantageous from auser viewpoint. A part of the upward flank of the first coupling partconnecting to the core is here preferably oriented substantiallyvertically. At least a part of the side of the downward tongue facingaway from the downward flank is here also preferably orientedsubstantially vertically. Applying substantially vertical stop surfacesin both coupling parts has the advantage that in the coupled positionthe coupling parts can connect to each other in relatively close-fittingand firm manner.

It is generally advantageous for the upward groove to be adapted toreceive with clamping fit a downward tongue of an adjacent panel.Receiving the upward groove, or at least a part thereof, with clampingfit in the downward tongue has the advantage that the downward tongue isenclosed relatively close-fittingly by the upward groove, this usuallyenhancing the firmness of the coupled construction. The same applies forthe embodiment variant in which the downward groove is adapted toreceive with clamping fit an upward tongue of an adjacent panel.

In an embodiment variant the upward flank and the downward flank extendin a substantially parallel direction. This makes it possible to connectthe flanks, as well as the locking elements, relatively closely to eachother in a coupled position, this generally enhancing the locking effectrealized by the locking elements.

In another embodiment variant the first locking element comprises atleast one outward bulge, and the second locking element comprises atleast one recess, which outward bulge is adapted to be at leastpartially received in a recess of an adjacent coupled floor panel forthe purpose of realizing a locked coupling. This embodiment variant isgenerally advantageous from a production engineering viewpoint. Thefirst locking element and the second locking element preferably take acomplementary form, whereby a form-fitting connection of the lockingelements of adjacent floor panels to each other will be realized, thisenhancing the effectiveness of the locking.

In an embodiment of the floor panel according to the invention the firstlocking element is positioned at a distance from an upper side of theupward tongue. Positioning the first locking element at a distance fromthe upper side of the upward tongue has a number of advantages. A firstadvantage is that this positioning of the first locking element canfacilitate the coupling between adjacent floor panels, since the firstlocking element will be positioned lower than (a lower part of) thealigning edge of the upward tongue, whereby the coupling between twocoupling parts can be performed in stages. During the coupling processthe tongue sides facing toward the associated flanks will first engageeach other, after which the locking elements engage each other, thisgenerally requiring a less great maximum pivoting (amplitude), andthereby deformation of a second coupling part of an adjacent floorpanel, than if the first aligning edge and the first locking elementwere to be located at more or less the same height. A further advantageof positioning the first locking element at a distance from an upperside of the upward tongue is that the distance to the resilientconnection between each coupling part and the core, generally formed bythe resilient bridge of each coupling part, is increased, whereby atorque exerted on the coupling parts can be compensated relativelyquickly by the locking elements, which can further enhance thereliability of the locking.

It is possible to envisage the first coupling part comprising aplurality of upward tongues lying at a distance from each other, whereinan upward groove is positioned between each two adjacent upward tongues,and the second coupling part comprising a plurality of downward groovespositioned a distance from each other for the purpose of receiving theabove stated upward tongues.

In an embodiment a plurality of sides of the floor panel comprise afirst coupling part, and a plurality of sides of the floor panelcomprise a second coupling part, wherein each first coupling part andeach second coupling part lie on opposite sides of the floor panel. Inthis way each side of the floor panel can be provided with a couplingpart, this increasing the coupling options of the floor panel. Bypositioning the first coupling part and the second coupling part onopposite sides it will be relatively simple for a user to lay a floorformed by floor panels according to the invention, since each floorpanel can be formed in the same way.

The first coupling part and the second coupling part preferably form anintegral part of the core. From a structural, production engineering andlogistics viewpoint this integral connection between the core and thecoupling parts is generally recommended.

In an embodiment variant the floor panel is manufactured at leastpartially from wood. The floor panel can herein form a wooden plankand/or a parquet floor panel. The floor panel according to the inventionis however also exceptionally suitable for application as laminatedfloor panel, wherein the floor panel comprises a laminate of a carrierlayer comprising a wood product and at least one top layer arranged onan upper side of the carrier layer. The top layer will here generallytake a hardened (wear-resistant) and transparent form, and in particularbe impregnated with resin. The carrier layer generally comprises a woodfibreboard, in particular an MDF board (Medium Density Fibreboard) orHDF board (High Density Fibreboard). Between the top layer and thecarrier layer can be arranged a decorative layer generally formed by aphoto of wood or of tiles printed on paper usually saturated in melamineresin. A wood or tile structure can further be pressed into the toplayer, whereby the top layer in fact also forms an embossed layer. Thetop layer can also be manufactured at least partially of plastic, metalor textile, in particular carpet. It is also possible to envisage thefloor panel being manufactured wholly from plastic, metal and/or textileinstead of being manufactured from wood.

In an embodiment variant the floor panel is manufactured at leastpartially from plastic. It is possible here to envisage the floor panelaccording to the invention being manufactured substantially wholly fromplastic.

The invention also relates to a floor covering consisting of mutuallycoupled floor panels according to the invention.

The invention further relates to a method for mutually connecting twofloor panels according to the invention, comprising the steps of: A)having a second coupling part of a first floor panel engage on a firstcoupling part of a second floor panel, B) exerting a force on the secondcoupling part of the first floor panel in the direction of the firstcoupling part of the second floor panel, such that an end part of thesecond coupling part of the first floor panel will pivot in upwarddirection and/or an end part of the first coupling part of the secondfloor panel will pivot in a downward direction, whereby a downwardtongue of the second coupling part of the first floor panel is arrangedat least partially, in particular substantially, in an upward groove ofthe first coupling part of the second floor panel, and C) releasing theforce exerted during step B), whereby the at least one deformed couplingpart will pivot back to an initial position and the downward tongue ofthe second coupling part of the first floor panel will be locked in theupward groove of the first coupling part of the second floor panel.During step A) an intermediate state is realised wherein the floorpanels are pre-aligned with respect to each other. During step B) asubstantially linear displacement of the floor panels relative to eachother will generally take place here, which results in a temporarydeformation of at least one of the coupling parts and the subsequentrealizing of a snap connection between the two coupling parts. In thecoupled position the first coupling part and the second coupling partwill generally no longer be deformed, and the first coupling part andthe second coupling part will have once again assumed the substantiallyoriginal (relaxed) form. It is expected that this relaxation in thecoupled position enhances the durability of the coupling parts, andthereby the durability of the coupling of the floor panels. In anembodiment during step A) the second coupling part of the first floorpanel engages both a side of the upward tongue facing towards the upwardflank and amide of the upward tongue facing away from the upward flankof the second coupling part of the second floor panel, as a result ofwhich a relatively stable intermediate state (pre-alignment state) canbe realised. In another embodiment during step A) the aligning edge ofthe first coupling part of the first floor panel is positioned at adistance from the second coupling part of the second floor panel, whichwill facilitate coupling of the floor panels, and which will preventscraping of (the upper surface of) the floor panels against each other,which could undesirably damage the floor panels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be elucidated on the basis of non-limitativeexemplary embodiments shown in the following figures herein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a floor panel according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a side view of an assembly of coupled floor panels accordingto FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side view of another floor panel according to the invention,

FIG. 4 is a side view of a part of an assembly of coupled floor panelsaccording to FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the floor panel according to FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 is a transverse side view of yet another floor panel according tothe invention,

FIGS. 7A-7F show successive method steps for realizing a couplingbetween two floor panels according to FIG. 6,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the floor panel according to FIGS. 6 and7,

FIG. 9 is another transverse side view of the floor panel according toFIGS. 6-8,

FIGS. 10A-10G show a first method for laying a floor constructed fromfloor panels according to FIGS. 6-9,

FIGS. 11A-11G show a second method for laying a floor constructed fromfloor panels according to FIGS. 6-9,

FIG. 12 is a top view of another embodiment of a floor panel accordingto the invention,

FIG. 13 shows a detail view of a part of the floor panel according toFIGS. 6-11G,

FIG. 14 shows a side view of a part of an assembly of another embodimentof connected floor panels according to the invention,

FIG. 15 shows a side view of a part of an assembly of yet anotherembodiment of connected floor panels according to the invention,

FIG. 16 shows a side view of a part of an assembly of still anotherembodiment of connected floor panels according to the invention,

FIG. 17 shows a side view of a part of an assembly of a furtherembodiment of connected floor panels according to the invention,

FIG. 18 shows a side view of a part of an assembly of another embodimentof connected floor panels according to the invention,

FIG. 19 shows aside view of a part of an assembly of another embodimentof connected floor panels according to the invention, and

FIG. 20 shows a detailed mathematical view of an intermediate state(pre-alignment state) of the orientation of two floor panels as shown inFIG. 7 c.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a floor panel 1 according to the invention.Floor panel 1 comprises a plate-like core 2 which is manufactured fromfibreboard, in particular MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) or HDF (HighDensity Fibreboard) or chipboard and on which a top layer 3 is arranged.The opposite longitudinal sides of core 2 are provided with a firstcoupling part 4 and a second coupling part 5. The part of floor panel 1lying between first coupling part 4 and second coupling part 5, asindicated by means of the broken lines, forms the central part 6 offloor panel 1. First coupling part 4 comprises an upward tongue 7, anupward flank 8 and an upward groove 9 formed between upward tongue 7 andupward flank 8. Second coupling part 5 comprises a downward tongue 10, adownward flank 11 and a downward groove 12 formed between downwardtongue 10 and downward flank 11. As shown, upward tongue 7, upward flank8 and upward groove 9 extend in the direction (indicated by means ofarrow A) of the normal of central part 6 (indicated by means of arrowN1) of the central floor panel 1. The same applies for the direction inwhich the downward tongue 10, downward flank 11 and downward groove 12extend (see arrows B and N2). In this exemplary embodiment the angle □enclosed by arrows A and N1 is equal to the angle □ enclosed by arrows Band N2, these angles equaling 30°. The first coupling part 4 is providedwith a ridge 13 which in the coupled situation co-acts with a recess 14arranged in a second coupling part 5 of an adjacent floor panel 1 (seeFIG. 2) for the purpose of realizing a locking between the two floorpanels 1. In addition, both coupling parts 4, 5 are provided with aprotective lip 15, 16 adapted to be received in a complementaryreceiving space 17, 18 of coupling parts 4, 5. Downward tongue 10 isprovided with an angled outer end 10 a, of which one side is positionedsubstantially horizontally and one side substantially vertically. Formedin this way are a substantially horizontal stop surface and asubstantially vertical stop surface adapted for co-action with thecomplementarily formed upward groove 9, whereby stabilizing (locking) ofthe coupling between the two floor panels 2 occurs (see FIG. 2). Asshown in FIG. 2, coupling parts 4, 5 engage form-fittingly into eachother. Coupling can take place by simply displacing first coupling part4 of a floor panel 1 in linear direction (indicated by means of arrow C)in the direction of second coupling part 2 of an adjacent floor panel 1,whereby the coupling parts engage fixedly in each other. Horizontalforces exerted on the assembly, resulting for instance from shrinkage orexpansion of floor parts 1, or vertical forces exerted on the assembly,resulting for instance from expansion of floor parts 1, will notadversely affect the realized coupling, whereby no uncoupling of floorparts 1 or forming of gaps between floor parts 1 will take place.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of another floor panel 19 according to theinvention. Floor panel 19 comprises a plate-like core 20 which ismanufactured from fibreboard, in particular MDF (Medium DensityFibreboard) or HDF (High Density Fibreboard) or chipboard and on which atop layer 21 is arranged. The opposite longitudinal sides of core 20 areprovided with a first coupling part 22 and a second coupling part 23which is complementary relative to first coupling part 22. The part offloor panel 19 located between first coupling part 22 and secondcoupling part 23, as indicated by means of the broken lines, isdesignated the central part 24 of floor panel 19. First coupling part 22comprises an upward tongue 25, an upward flank 26 and an upward groove27 formed between upward tongue 25 and upward flank 26. Second couplingpart 23 comprises a downward tongue 28, a downward flank 29 and adownward groove 30 formed between downward tongue 28 and downward flank29. As shown, upward tongue 25, upward flank 26 and upward groove 27extend in the direction (indicated by means of arrows A1, A2 and A3) ofthe normal of central part 24 (indicated by means of arrow N) of floorpanel 19. The same applies for the direction in which downward tongue 28and downward groove 30 extend (see arrows B1 and B3). Downward flank 29extends in this exemplary embodiment in a direction substantially thesame as the normal of central part 24 of floor panel 19. As shown, firstcoupling part 22 is provided with a outward bulge 31 and second couplingpart 23 is provided with a complementary recess 32 for the purpose ofbeing able to realize a locking during coupling of floor panel 19 to anadjacent floor panel 19 (see FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4, upward groove27 of first coupling part 22 of a floor panel 19 and a downward tongue28 of a second coupling part 23 of an adjacent floor panel 19 mutuallyenclose an air space 33. FIG. 5 further shows that side edges 34 (endsurfaces) of floor panel 19 are provided with an upward profile 35 and acomplementary downward profile 36 for realizing a lateral couplingbetween two floor panels 19 positioned against each other on endsurfaces 34.

FIG. 6 shows a side view of yet another rectangular floor panel 37according to the invention. Floor panel 37 comprises a core 38 providedwith an upper side 38 a and a lower side 38 b, and coupling parts 39, 40positioned on opposite longitudinal sides of core 38 and connectedintegrally to core 38. A first coupling part 39 comprises an upwardtongue 41, an upward flank 42 and an upward groove 43 formed betweenupward tongue 41 and upward flank 42. A side 41 a of upward tongue 41facing toward upward flank 42 extends in the direction of the normal N1of the upper side 38 a of core 38. The tangent R1 and the normal N1 ofupper side 38 a of core 38 are thus directed toward each other(converging orientation), wherein the angle enclosed by R1 and N1amounts to 5 degrees. Another side 41 b of upward tongue 41 facingtoward upward flank 42 forms an aligning edge enabling facilitatedrealization of a coupling to an adjacent floor panel. As shown, thisside 41 b functioning as aligning edge is directed away from the normalN1 of upper side 38 a of the core. An upper side 41 d of upward tongue41 does however extend in the direction of the normal N1 of upper side38 a of core 38, and runs inclining downward in the direction of theside 41 e of upward tongue 41 facing away from upward flank 42. Thischamfering provides the option of giving the complementary secondcoupling part 40 a more robust and therefore stronger form. The side 41e of upward tongue 41 facing away from upward flank 42 is orientedsubstantially vertically and is moreover provided with an outward bulge44. A lower part 42 a of upward flank 42 is oriented diagonally, whilean upper part 42 b of upward flank 42 is shown to be substantiallyvertical and forms a stop surface for second coupling part 40. A lowerwall part 43 a of upward groove 43 is oriented substantiallyhorizontally in this exemplary embodiment. A bridge 45 lying betweenlower wall part 43 a of upward groove 43 and a lower side 39 a has asomewhat elastic nature and is adapted to allow upward tongue 41 topivot relative to upward flank 42, this resulting in a (temporary)widening of upward groove 43, whereby coupling of floor panel 37 to anadjacent floor panel can be facilitated (see FIGS. 7A-7F). Secondcoupling part 40 is substantially complementary to first coupling part39. Second coupling part 40 comprises a downward tongue 46, a downwardflank 47 and a downward groove 48 formed between downward tongue 46 anddownward flank 47. A side 46 a of downward tongue 46 facing towarddownward flank 47 lies in the direction of the normal N2 of the lowerside 38 b of core 38. This means that a tangent R2 of side 46 a ofdownward tongue 46 and the normal of the lower side 38 b of core 38 aremutually converging. In this exemplary embodiment the tangent R2 and thenormal N2 enclose a mutual angle of 5 degrees. A side 46 b facing awayfrom downward flank 47 is diagonally oriented, but has a flatterorientation than the complementary side 42 a of upward flank 42, wherebya gap (air space) will be formed in the coupled position (see also FIG.7F), which will generally facilitate coupling between two floor panels37. The inclining side 46 b of downward tongue 46 also functions asaligning edge for the purpose of further facilitating coupling betweentwo floor panels 37. Another side 46 c facing away from downward flank47 takes a substantially vertical form and forms a complementary stopsurface for stop surface 42 b of upward flank 42 (of an adjacent floorpanel). Downward tongue 46 is further provided with a side 46 d which isfacing toward downward flank 47 and which functions as aligning edge forfirst coupling part 39 of an adjacent floor panel. Because upper side 41d of upward tongue 41 has an inclining orientation, an upper side 48 aof downward groove 48 likewise has an inclining orientation, whereby the(average) distance between upper side 48 a of downward groove 48 and anupper side 40 a of second coupling part 40 is sufficiently large toimpart sufficient strength to second coupling part 40 as such. Downwardflank 47 is oriented substantially vertically and is provided with arecess 49 adapted to receive the outward bulge 44 of upward tongue 41(of an adjacent floor panel).

A bridge 50 lying between upper side 48 a of downward groove 48 andupper side 40 a has a somewhat elastic nature and is adapted to allowdownward tongue 46 to pivot relative to downward flank 47, thisresulting in a (temporary) widening of downward groove 48, wherebycoupling of floor panel 37 to an adjacent floor panel can be facilitated(see FIGS. 7A-7F). The shown floor panel 37 can form a parquet floorpanel, a plank, a laminated floor panel or a plastic floor panel.

FIGS. 7A-7F show successive method steps for realizing a couplingbetween two floor panels 37 a, 37 b as according to FIG. 6. In a first(optional) step as shown in FIG. 7A, second coupling part 40 of a firstfloor panel 37 a is displaced in the direction of first coupling part 39of a second floor panel 37 b by sliding first floor panel 37 a oversecond floor panel 37 b (see arrow). As shown in FIG. 7B, secondcoupling part 40 of first floor panel 37 a will then be brought intoline with first coupling part 39 of second floor panel 37 b by havingthe lower side 38 b of core 38 of the first floor panel 37 a slide alongupper side 41 d of upward tongue 41 of second floor panel 37 b (seearrow) until aligning edge 46 a of downward tongue 46 of first floorpanel 37 a supports on aligning edge 41 b of upward tongue 41 of secondfloor panel 37 b (FIG. 7C). The other aligning edge 46 b of downwardtongue 46 of first floor panel 37 will generally also make contact herewith upper side 38 a of core 38. By now exerting a downward force on atleast bridge 50 of second coupling part 40 of first floor panel 37 a,downward tongue 46 will pivot in upward direction relative to downwardflank 47, wherein upward tongue 41 of second floor panel 37 b willgenerally also pivot relative to upward flank 42 of second floor panel37 b (FIG. 7D). During this temporary deformation of coupling parts 39,40 both the downward groove 48 of first floor panel 37 a and the upwardgroove 43 of second floor panel 37 b will be widened such that downwardtongue 46 of first floor panel 37 a can be arranged at least partiallyin upward groove 43 of second floor panel 37 b, and upward tongue 41 ofsecond floor panel 37 b can be arranged at least partially in downwardgroove 48 of first floor panel 37 a (FIG. 7E). After the force on floorpanels 37 a, 37 b has been released, the deformation will besubstantially ended, and floor panels 37 a, 37 b will be mutuallycoupled. An additional locking is realized here in that locking elements44, 49 of both floor panels 37 a, 37 b are mutually co-acting in thecoupled position. Uncoupling of floor panels 37 a, 37 b can otherwisetake place by moving the free outer end, facing away from second floorpanel 37 b, of first floor panel 37 a in upward direction, after whichfloor panels 37 a, 37 b will click loose of each other. Movement offirst floor panel 37 a in upward direction can optionally be facilitatedby making use of a tool, such as for instance a wedge. Another method ofdisassembling floor panels 37 a, 37 b is to slide floor panels 37 a, 37b along each other, whereby coupling parts 39, 40 can be removed fromeach other, which will result in uncoupling of floor panels 37 a, 37 b.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of floor panel 37 according to FIGS. 6and 7, which also shows that a first coupling part 51 and a secondcoupling part 52 are positioned on the opposite short sides of therectangular floor panel 37. A transverse side view of the short sides offloor panel 37 is shown in FIG. 9. As shown, first coupling part 51largely corresponds structurally to the construction of first couplingpart 39 shown in FIG. 6, and second coupling part 52 largely correspondsstructurally to the construction of second coupling part 40 shown inFIG. 6. However, first coupling part 51 shown in FIG. 8 comprises a lessdeep upward groove 53 compared to upward groove 43 of the long side offloor panel 37 as shown in FIG. 6. Furthermore, a first locking element54 connects to an upper side 55 of an upward tongue 56 of first couplingpart 51. A flat lower side 57 defining upward groove 43 further hassmaller dimensions than this lower side as shown in FIG. 6, and upwardtongue 56 has smaller dimensions than upward tongue 41 as shown in FIG.6. The second coupling part 52 shown in FIG. 8 is correspondinglymodified relative to second coupling part 40 as shown in FIG. 6. Thedimensioning of the first coupling part 51 and second coupling part 52arranged on the short sides relative to the first coupling part 39 andsecond coupling part 40 positioned on the long sides is particularlyintended to facilitate mutual coupling of floor panels 37, as furthershown in FIGS. 10A-10G (first method) and FIGS. 11A-11G (second method).

FIGS. 10A-10G show a first method of laying a floor 58 constructed fromfloor panels 37 as according to FIGS. 6-9. When a floor panel 37 a hasto be coupled to already laid floor panels 37 (FIG. 10A), the relevantfloor panel 37 can then be pushed in transverse direction (see arrow A)over the already laid floor panels 37 (FIGS. 10B and 10C), wherein firstcoupling part 39 of one or more already laid floor panels 37 is coupledto second coupling part 40 of the floor panel 37 for laying. Aftercoupling of the longitudinal sides of floor panels 37 the floor panel 37for laying is pushed in longitudinal direction (see arrow B) (FIGS. 10Dand 10E), whereby the short sides of the floor panels can be connectedto each other by causing second coupling part 52 of the floor panel 37for laying to co-act with first coupling part 51 of the adjacent floorpanel 37.

FIGS. 11A-11G show a second method of laying a floor 58 constructed fromfloor panels 37 as according to FIGS. 6-9. When a floor panel 37 a hasto be coupled to already laid floor panels 37 (FIG. 11A), a corner point37 a of the relevant floor panel 37 for laying can then be positioned ina corner formed by already coupled floor panels (FIGS. 11B and 11C andsuccessively FIGS. 11D and 11E), after which the floor panel 37 forlaying is pivoted in downward direction, whereby second coupling part 40of the floor panel 37 for laying will co-act with—in this case—aplurality of first coupling parts 39 of already laid floor panels 37,and whereby second coupling part 52 of the floor panel 37 for layingwill co-act with first coupling part 51 of an adjacent floor panel 37.According to this second method, the long side and the short side areconnected (more or less) simultaneously to each other.

FIG. 12 shows a top view of an alternative floor panel 59 according tothe invention. Floor panel 59 comprises six equal sides 60, whereinsides 60 are alternately provided with a first coupling part 61 and asecond coupling part 62. First coupling part 61 is structurallyidentical to first coupling part 39 as shown in FIG. 6, and secondcoupling part 62 is structurally identical to second coupling part 40 asshown in FIG. 6. A floor can be manufactured with a honeycomb pattern bycoupling the hexagonal floor panels 59 through co-action of firstcoupling parts 61 and second coupling parts 62 of different floor panels59.

FIG. 13 shows a detail view of a part of floor panel 37 according toFIGS. 6-11G, wherein particularly the first coupling part 39 is shown.In addition to all particular surfaces already specified in theforegoing, FIG. 13 also shows that upper part 42 b of upward flank 42 isshown substantially vertically and is provided with an offset,overhanging connecting surface 63. The advantage of applying anoverhanging connecting surface 63 is that a second coupling part 40 ofan adjacent panel 37 (indicated by means of broken lines) will be ableto fit closely onto the overhanging connecting surface 63, wherein anair gap 64 is also formed between the two coupling parts 39, 40 justbelow the overhanging connecting surface 63. This clearanceintentionally created between the two coupling parts 39, 40 is usuallyadvantageous for the purpose of accurate connection of coupling parts39, 40 to each other, since irregularities in the form of floor panel 37or expansion of floor panel 37 can be compensated by air gap 64. Alreadystated above is that a side 46 b facing away from the downward flank hasa flatter orientation than the complementary side 42 a of upward flank42, whereby a further air gap 65 will also be formed in the coupledposition, which will generally further facilitate coupling between twofloor panels 37.

FIG. 14 shows a side view of a part of an assembly 51 of anotherembodiment of floor panels 52 a, 52 b according to the invention. From aconstructive point of view the floor panel 52, 52 b as shown is for asubstantial part similar to the floor panel 37 as shown in FIG. 6,wherein the floor panels are mutually connected by means of threelocking mechanism. A first locking mechanism is also present in thefloor panel 37 as shown in FIG. 6, and is based upon the cooperationbetween an outward bulge 53 positioned at an outward surface 54 of anupward tongue 55 of the right floor panel 52 b, and a recess 56positioned at a downward flank 57 of the left floor panel 52 a. A secondlocking mechanism, which is also present in the floor panel 37 as shownin FIG. 6, is formed by the engagement of an inclined surface 58 of thedownward tongue 59 of the left floor panel 52 a, to an inclined surface60 of the upward tongue 55 which results in locking the downward tongue59 of the left floor panel 52 a into an upward groove 61 of the rightfloor panel 52 b. A third locking mechanism is formed by the applicationof an additional outward bulge 62 positioned at an outer surface 63 ofthe downward tongue 59, and which is more in particular positionedbetween an aligning edge 64 and a vertical top end 65 of the outersurface 63 of the downward tongue 59, of the left floor panel 52 a. Saidadditional bulge 55 co-acts with and snap-fits into a complementaryrecess 66 applied to an upward flank 67 of the right floor panel 52 b.Between the downward tongue 59 and the upward flank 67 an expansionchamber 68 is present in order to be able to compensate play in case ofexpansion of the floor panels 52, 52 b, for example due to moistabsorption.

FIG. 15 shows a side view of a part of an assembly 69 of anotherembodiment of floor panels 70 a, 70 b according to the invention havingthree locking mechanisms. A first locking mechanism is based upon thecooperation between an outward bulge 71 positioned at an outward surface72 of an upward tongue 73 of the right floor panel 70 b, and a recess 74positioned at a downward flank 75 of the left floor panel 70 a. A secondlocking mechanism is formed by the engagement of an inclined surface 76of the downward tongue 77 of the left floor panel 70 a, to an inclinedsurface 78 of the upward tongue 73 which results in locking the downwardtongue 78 of the left floor panel 70 a into an upward groove 79 of theright floor panel 70 b. A third locking mechanism is formed by theapplication of an additional outward bulge 80 positioned at an outersurface 81 of the downward tongue 77, and which is more in particularpositioned between an aligning edge 82 and a vertical top end 83 of theouter surface 81 of the downward tongue 77, of the left floor panel 70a, wherein there is a smooth transition between the bulge 80 and thevertical top end 83. Said additional bulge 80 co-acts with and snap-fitsinto a complementary recess 84 applied to an upward flank 85 of theright floor panel 70 b. Between the downward tongue 77 and the upwardflank 85 an expansion chamber 86 is present in order to be able tocompensate play in case of expansion of the floor panels 70, 70 b, forexample due to moist absorption.

FIG. 16 shows a side view of a part of an assembly 87 of anotherembodiment of floor panels 88 a, 88 b according to the invention havingthree locking mechanisms. The first and second locking mechanisms areidentical to the first and second locking mechanism as shown in FIG. 6,FIG. 14, and FIG. 15. The third locking mechanism is based upon theapplication of an outward bulge 89 positioned at an outward surface 90of a downward tongue 91 of the left floor panel 88 a which co-acts witha complementary recess 92 of an upward flank 93 of a right floor panel88 b. The bulge 89 is adapted to deform in slightly with respect to acore part of the downward tongue 91 due to the presence of asubstantially vertical slot 94, adjacent to the bulge 89, applied intoan aligning edge 95 of the downward tongue 91. This flexibilityfacilitates snapping of the bulge 89 into the recess 92, and hencerealization of the connection between the floor panels 88 a, 88 b.

FIG. 17 shows a side view of a part of an assembly 96 of anotherembodiment of floor panels 97 a, 97 b according to the invention havingthree locking mechanisms. The first and second locking mechanisms areidentical to the first and second locking mechanism as shown in FIG. 6,FIG. 14, FIG. 15, and FIG. 16. Again, the third locking mechanism isbased upon the application of an outward bulge 98 positioned at anoutward surface 99 of a downward tongue 100 of the left floor panel awhich co-acts with a complementary recess 101 of an upward flank 102 ofa right floor panel 97 b. The bulge 98 is adapted to deform slightlywith respect to a core part of the downward tongue 100 due to thepresence of a substantially vertical slot 103 applied into a horizontalbottom surface 104 of the downward tongue 100. This flexibilityfacilitates snapping of the bulge 98 into the recess 101, and hencerealisation of the connection between the floor panels 97 a, 97 b.

FIG. 18 shows a side view of a part of an assembly 105 of anotherembodiment of floor panels 106 a, 106 b according to the inventionhaving three locking mechanisms. The first and second locking mechanismsare identical to the first and second locking mechanism as shown in theprevious figures. The third locking mechanism is based upon theapplication of a slot 107 positioned at an outward surface 108 of adownward tongue 109 of the left floor panel 106 a which co-acts with ahorizontally displaceable spring pin 110 contained by an opposite recess111 of an upward flank 112 of the right floor panel 106 b. An outer endof the spring pin 110 is conically shaped as to facilitate connection ofboth floor panels 106 a, 106 b.

FIG. 19 shows a side view of a part of an assembly 113 of anotherembodiment of floor panels 114 a, 114 b according to the inventionhaving three locking mechanisms. The first and second locking mechanismsare identical to the first and second locking mechanism as shown in theprevious figures. The third locking mechanism is based upon theapplication of a horizontal slot 115 positioned at an outward surface116 of a downward tongue 117 of the left floor panel 114 a, wherein saidslot 115 is bounded by a protruding locking edge 118 which co-acts witha complementary counter edge 119 making part of an upward flank 120 ofthe right floor panel 114 b.

FIG. 20 shows a detail of the floor panels 37 a, 37 b as according toFIG. 7 c which is considered as an intermediate state in whichpre-alignment of the floor panels 37 a-37 b takes place. The referencesin this FIG. 18 are defined as follows:

a: contact point between floor panel 37 a and floor panel 37 b, whereinthe floor panels 37 a and 37 b are undeformed;

b: contact point between floor panel 37 a and floor panel 37 b, whereinthe upward tongue 41 is deformed to allow downward tongue 46 to enterinto upward groove 43;

c: a point on the inclining side g of floor panel 37 a, which coincideswith the plane of the upper surface of the floor panel 37 b;

d: the upper corner d of the floor panel 37 b;

e: the highest point in the roof of the downward groove 48

f: the inclined flank of the downward tongue 46 in a direction to thedownward groove 48;

g: the inclined side of the downward tongue 46 facing away from thedownward groove 48;

w1: the actual width w1 of the downward tongue 46 is defined by thedistance between a line 11 through the point a of floor panel 37 b in adirection perpendicular to the top surface of floor panel 37 b and aline 12 through the point c of floor panel 37 a in a directionperpendicular to the top surface of floor panel 37 b in a directionparallel to the angled outer end 120 of the downward tongue 46;

w2: the effective width w2 of the downward tongue 46 is defined by theshortest distance between the line 11 and the line 12 in a directionparallel to the top surface of floor panel 37 b;

w3: the width w3 of the upward groove 43 is defined by the shortestdistance between the line 11 and a line 13 through the corner d of floorpanel 37 b in a direction perpendicular to the top surface of floorpanel 37 b;

w4: the width w4 of the downward tongue 46 is defined by the shortestdistance between a line 14 through the point b of floor panel 37 b in adirection perpendicular to the top surface of floor panel 37 b and theline 13

h1: the actual height of the downward tongue 46, as defined by theshortest between the angled outer end 120 of the downward tongue 46 anda line through point c parallel to the angled outer end 120 of thedownward tongue 46;

h2: the effective height of the downward groove 48, as defined by theshortest distance between a line 15 through point a of floor panel 37 bin a direction parallel to the top surface of the floor panel 37 b and aline 16 through point e in the roof of the downward groove 48 in adirection parallel to line 15;

δ: the angle between the line through point c of floor panel 37 a in adirection parallel to the angled outer end 121 of the downward tongue 46and a line through point c of floor panel 37 a in a direction parallelto the top surface of the floor panel 37 b; and

φ: the angle between the line 11 and a flank f of floor panel 37 a.

The floor panels 37 a,37 b as shown in this mutual orientation areundeformed. Between the upper corner d of the floor panel 37 b and thepoint c of the floor panel 37 a is a small space so as not to damage orthe corner d by a force generated onto floor panel 37 a. Floor panels 37a and 37 b can be coupled as explained in FIG. 7. During coupling thesecond coupling part 40 will deform. The contact point between the floorpanels 37 a and 37 b will then move from point a to point b, wherein thedownward tongue 46 will be able to be inserted into upward groove 43 ofthe floor panel 37 b.

To allow effective coupling of the floor panels 37 a and 37 b the mutualrelation between the floor panels 37 a,37 b are dimensions as follows;

-   -   w2<w3    -   w2≦w4    -   w3>w4    -   w2≈w1*cos δ    -   h1≈h2*cos φ    -   δ<φ    -   w1<w3*cos δ

It will be apparent that the invention is not limited to the exemplaryembodiments shown and described here, but that within the scope of theappended claims numerous variants are possible which will beself-evident to the skilled person in this field.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A floor panel, comprising: a centrallylocated core provided with an upper side and a lower side, at least onefirst resilient coupling part and second resilient coupling partconnected respectively to opposite edges of the core, which firstcoupling part comprises a single upward tongue, at least one upwardflank lying at a distance from the upward tongue and a single upwardgroove formed between the upward tongue and the upward flank, wherein:at least a part of a side of the upward tongue facing toward the upwardflank extends in the direction of the normal of the upper side of thecore, at least a part of a side of the upward tongue facing toward theupward flank forms an upward aligning edge for the purpose of couplingthe first coupling part to a second coupling part of an adjacent floorpanel, at least a part of a side of the upward tongue facing away fromthe upward flank is provided with a first locking element which isconnected substantially rigidly to the upward tongue and adapted forco-action with a second locking element of a second coupling part of anadjacent floor panel, which second coupling part comprises a singledownward tongue, at least one downward flank lying at a distance fromthe downward tongue, and a single downward groove formed between thedownward tongue and the downward flank, wherein: at least a part of aside of the downward tongue facing toward the downward flank extends inthe direction of the normal of the lower side of the core, at least apart of a side of the downward tongue facing away from the downwardflank forms a downward aligning edge for the purpose of coupling thesecond coupling part to a first coupling part of an adjacent floorpanel, the downward flank is provided with a second locking elementwhich is connected substantially rigidly to the downward flank andadapted for co-action with a first locking element of a first couplingpart of an adjacent floor panel, wherein the upward groove is adapted toreceive at least a part of a downward tongue of an adjacent panel, andwherein the downward groove is adapted to receive at least a part of anupward tongue of an adjacent panel.
 2. The floor panel as claimed inclaim 1, wherein at least one coupling part comprises a bridge partconnected to the core and an end part connected resiliently to thebridge part, wherein the end part is adapted to move resiliently in adirection enclosing an angle with a plane formed by the core.
 3. Thefloor panel as claimed in claim 2, wherein the upward flank of the firstcoupling part forms part of the bridge part of the first coupling part,and that the upward tongue of the first coupling part forms part of theend part of the first coupling part.
 4. The floor panel as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the downward flank of the second coupling part formspart of the bridge part of the second coupling part, and that thedownward tongue of the second coupling part forms part of the end partof the second coupling part.
 5. The floor panel as claimed in claim 2,wherein the angle is a substantially perpendicular angle.
 6. The floorpanel as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the upward tongue and thedownward tongue is substantially rigid.
 7. The floor panel as claimed inclaim 1, wherein each of the upward tongue and the downward tongue issubstantially solid.
 8. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, whereinat least a part of the upward flank adjoining the upper side of thefloor panel is adapted to make contact with at least a part of thedownward tongue adjoining the upper side of another floor panel in acoupled state of these floor panels.
 9. The floor panel as claimed inclaim 8, wherein the upper side of the floor panel is adapted to engagesubstantially seamless to the upper side of another floor panel.
 10. Thefloor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first locking element ispositioned at a distance from an upper side of the upward tongue. 11.The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second lockingelement is positioned at a distance from an upper side of the downwardgroove.
 12. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the effectiveheight of the downward aligned edge is larger than the effective heightof the upward tongue.
 13. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe mutual angle enclosed by at least a part of a side of the upwardtongue facing toward the upward flank and the normal of the upper sideof the core is substantially equal to the mutual angle enclosed by atleast a part of a side of the downward tongue facing toward the downwardflank and the normal of the lower side of the core.
 14. The floor panelas claimed in claim 1, wherein the incline of the downward aligned edgeis less than the incline of at least an upper part of the upward flank.15. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the angle enclosed byon the one hand the direction in which at least a part of a side of theupward tongue facing toward the upward flank extends and on the otherthe normal of the upper side of the core lies between 0 and 60 degrees.16. The floor panel as claimed in claim 15, wherein the angle enclosedby on the one hand the direction in which at least a part of a side ofthe downward tongue facing toward the downward flank extends and on theother the normal of the lower side of the core lies between 0 and 45degrees.
 17. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least apart of an upper side of the upward tongue extends in a direction towardthe normal of the upper side of the core.
 18. The floor panel as claimedin claim 1, wherein at least a part of the aligning edge of the secondcoupling part has a substantially flatter orientation than at least apart of the upward flank of the first coupling part.
 19. The floor panelas claimed in claim 1, wherein a part of the upward flank of the firstcoupling part connecting to the core forms a stop surface for at least apart of the side of the downward tongue facing away from the downwardflank.
 20. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a part of theupward flank of the first coupling part connecting to the core isoriented substantially vertically.
 21. The floor panel as claimed inclaim 1, wherein at least a part of the side of the downward tonguefacing away from the downward flank is oriented substantiallyvertically.
 22. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein theupward groove of the first coupling part is given a form such that thisupward groove is adapted for receiving in locked manner at least a partof a downward tongue of a second coupling part of an adjacent floorpanel.
 23. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upwardgroove is adapted to receive with clamping fit a downward tongue of anadjacent panel.
 24. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein thedownward groove is adapted to receive with clamping fit an upward tongueof an adjacent panel.
 25. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe upward flank and the downward flank extend in a substantiallyparallel direction.
 26. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe first locking element comprises at least one outward bulge, and thatthe second locking element comprises at least one recess, which outwardbulge is adapted to be at least partially received in a recess of anadjacent coupled floor panel for the purpose of realizing a lockedcoupling.
 27. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the firstlocking element is positioned at a distance from an upper side of theupward tongue.
 28. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein thefirst coupling part comprises a plurality of upward tongues lying at adistance from each other, wherein an upward groove is positioned betweeneach two adjacent upward tongues, and that the second coupling partcomprises a plurality of downward grooves positioned a distance fromeach other for the purpose of receiving said upward tongues.
 29. Thefloor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of sides of thefloor panel comprise a first coupling part, and that a plurality ofsides of the floor panel comprise a second coupling part, wherein eachfirst coupling part and each second coupling part lie on opposite sidesof the floor panel.
 30. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe first coupling part and the second coupling part form an integralpart of the core.
 31. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein thefloor panel is manufactured at least partially from wood.
 32. The floorpanel as claimed in claim 31, wherein the floor panel comprises alaminate of a carrier layer comprising a wood product, and at least onetop layer arranged on an upper side of the carrier layer.
 33. The floorpanel as claimed in claim 32, wherein at least one top layer isimpregnated with resin.
 34. The floor panel as claimed in claim 32,wherein at least one top layer forms an embossed layer.
 35. The floorpanel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the floor panel is manufactured atleast partially from plastic.
 36. The floor panel as claimed in claim 1,wherein a side of the downward tongue facing away from the downwardflank is provided with a third locking element, and wherein the upwardflank is provided with a fourth locking element, said third lockingelement being adapted to cooperate with a fourth locking element ofanother floor panel.
 37. The floor panel as claimed in claim 36, whereinthe third locking element is connected resiliently to another part ofthe downward tongue.
 38. The floor panel as claimed in claim 37, whereina slot is provided in the downward tongue to allow the third lockingelement to deform resiliently.
 39. The floor panel as claimed in claim1, wherein the first locking element is positioned at a lower level thanthe upward aligning edge of the upward tongue.
 40. The floor panel asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the core is rectangular, and the at leastone first resilient coupling part and second resilient coupling part areconnected respectively to opposite short edges of the core.
 41. Thefloor panel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the part of the side of theupward tongue facing toward the upward flank forms a non-flat upwardaligning edge.
 42. The floor panel as claimed in claim I, wherein theupward groove is adapted to receive at least a part of the downwardtongue of the adjacent panel with clamping-fit.
 43. A floor coveringcomprising at least two floor panels as claimed in claim
 1. 44. A methodfor mutually connecting two floor panels, comprising the steps of: A)having a second coupling part of a first floor panel engage on a firstcoupling part of a second floor panel, B) exerting a force on the secondcoupling part of the first floor panel in the direction of the firstcoupling part of the second floor panel, such that an end part of thesecond coupling part of the first floor panel will pivot in upwarddirection and/or an end part of the first coupling part of the secondfloor panel will pivot in a downward direction, whereby a downwardtongue of the second coupling part of the first floor panel is arrangedat least partially in an upward groove of the first coupling part of thesecond floor panel, and C) releasing the force exerted during step B),whereby at least one deformed coupling part will pivot back to aninitial position and the downward tongue of the second coupling part ofthe first floor panel will be locked in the upward groove of the firstcoupling part of the second floor panel, and wherein a second lockingelement, being connected substantially rigidly to a downward flank, willco-act with a first locking element being positioned at side of theupward tongue facing away from an upward flank and being connectedsubstantially rigidly to the upward tongue of the second floor panel.45. The method according to claim 44, wherein during step A) the secondcoupling part of the first floor panel engages both a side of the upwardtongue facing towards the upward flank and a side of the upward tonguefacing away from the upward flank of the second coupling part of thesecond floor panel.
 46. The method according to claim 44, wherein duringstep A) the aligning edge of the first coupling part of the first floorpanel is positioned at a distance from the second coupling part of thesecond floor panel.